What is intuitive Eating?

Intuitive eating is gaining control over your food, rather than letting your food control you. It teaches you to bring awareness to your eating practices, and start to tame some of your strict food rules. Some principles of my intuitive eating practice include:

Eating intuitive can be a scary concept for many. It goes against what diet culture tells us about looking a certain way, and what we can eat (sometimes it is hard to keep track of what you can and can’t eat!). This has been a long journey for me that I am still on. Trust is ourselves in hard to build.

Intuitive eating fits in to the non-diet approach. Foods don’t have to be off limits.

Why Intuitive Eating and Non-Diet?

I have been practicing as a dietitian for over 7 years, and have come to find that strict diets Don’t work. I have had many clients come through my practice like a revolving door: elation of weight loss on a diet plan I put them on, then back a time later gaining it back - usually worse off than before. Feeling guilty for the weight change, for eating foods they “shouldn’t”. On top of that, weight cycling can have a negative effect on your metabolism. Personally, as someone who struggles with body image issues and food fears, it takes a lot of mental and physical energy to be so controlled about eating; energy that could be better spent on other positive aspects of your life.

But if you don’t make me a diet, what do you do?

This is a tough question to answer because each client is very different! Some may need counselling to help them let go of their food-related anxieties, guidance to re-discover their hunger cues, or nutrition education for a health concern. Overall goals of a non-diet approach is improvements in healthy behaviours and feeling well. Some clients may see their weight change, but more importantly they can experience improvements in their mental health and physical well-being (including control of blood pressure, gastrointestinal concerns, blood sugars, etc.).

Are you ready to give up the Diet Cycle? Begin to trust in your body and body signals? Find comfort in your own skin? Calm your mind from the food fear chatter?